Post your trip reports, travel experiences, and updates abroad. Or your expat story if you already live overseas. Note: To post photos and images, insert the image URL between the tags [img]and[/img] after uploading them to a third party site.

If I meet Taiwanese people abroad, they will be glad to meet me because it is nice to see another Taiwanese in a foreign land. Thus they will be friendly and glad to see me. But here in Taiwan, strangers just ignore you if they don't know you, and only talk to you if it's business related (i.e. they want to sell you something) or if you're introduced through mutual friends.

It's the same with Americans. It is very easy to start chatting with another American expat or traveler abroad, like in the PH for instance. They will be friendly and ask where you're from and chit chat with you, especially male expats. But in America, strangers don't talk to each other and just ignore each other's existence, unless it's business related.

Sometimes. And sometimes they will f%^$# you up worse than the locals will. And immigrants from the same country may be nice to each other but also start acting uppety as in- I have been here longer and I know how things are, and you are the greenhorn. So it depends. And maybe the Taiwanese will be nice to YOU, but not to ME. They get the race bug when in the USA. Filipinas turn into sombre, sullen she-devils when abroad. And many screw each other over.

When I was in the Netherlands, I went to an expat group whose members were Americans, British, Australian, French, and one Serbian. Other then that, I didn't meet a lot of Americans because I wasn't living in a tourist area. I met an American man in Prague who was writing a novel. We talked about how safe Europe is compared to the US. If an American lives oversees, they are probably highly educated and more interesting and open minded then the average American.

My years overseas taught me to generally avoid the Americans abroad. Sometimes they'd be polite, and on occasion you'd find someone who was really multifaceted and interesting, but mostly they were either hippie whiners and their guitars escaping the "evil President" du jour. I found most American women overseas horribly snotty and obnoxious, pretending to be some sort of Ã¼bercultured wannabe, who was just "too constrained" by "stupid America". These are the ones who just bash America from overseas and spread poisonous commentary around wherever they go, thinking the rest of the world is going to love them for acting that way. I found most people overseas just appreciated me for being me, and appreciated the fact that I was not trying to pretend that I'm anything but an American who loves to see the world and is interested in other cultures. I tend to be pretty Type-A here in the US, but overseas, I tend to be much quieter, blend in, and listen and watch what's going on. Overseas, it's my job to be the listener and the learner, and not boss them around like I saw so many AW over there do. Yecchh.

Oh yeah...one other thing. I remember in Russia and the Czech Republic I was often asked "why don't you hang out with the Americans in town?". I always told them the same thing: "if I wanted to hang out with Americans, I'd be in America." Simple and to the point.

Generally, when I meet another white abroad, it is an english teacher and USUALLY a fairly decent guy. I'm met alot of people that helped me out.
pretending to be some sort of Ã¼bercultured wannabe, who was just "too constrained" by "stupid America".

Then there's the women... I've yet to meet any white woman (excluding gf's) who doesn't act pompous and stupid. They are all liberal university grads, abroad for the 'cultural experience'. Half are with their bf's who you can clearly see regret bringing them or the other half are single/fat/ugly/childless/old women who are there to force their insecurities on the world via ESL and politically correctness.

I have never had a good experience with a WOMAN ESL teacher...never. They are always on the defensive or offended by you dating the locals or offended by something you say about the country or offended by your lack of education or offended by something you say about back home or offended by you suggesting anything dating related in the classroom or offended by you talking to her about sex or offended by you suggesting anything male oriented in the classroom or offended by making inappropriate comments such as (Cool or Awesome) or offended by your lack of empathy to their situation or offended by suggesting fat people eat too much or offended if you dropped an ex due to a wieght issue or offended if you are getting to close to the female studets or offended if you don't worship Anne Rice or offended if you say anything against feminism or offended by something you said about a student or offended by something you said about a teacher or offended by a fart or burp or offended by your clothing or offended that I don't take an interest in gay and lesbian culture or offended that I'm not more active in local charities or or or or or or or. I have had SO many run ins with women teachers and women abroad that now I just turn and walk away as soon as I see one.

I avoid those from the Anglosphere like the plague while abroad. I find these same people would not want to have anything to do with me in the States, but the only interact to "milk" me for information that I would never give up.

I find them stifling, one-dimensional, and uninteresting.

The females inspire nausea and disgust in me, and I am now somewhat rude to them since they can't invoke the cops and the government to protect them in the countries I frequent. It sounds harsh, but it is the only way to get across the message that "I am not interested in you, go away!" Short of that, they think that they are just great and I just don't know it yet.

An American in distress (unless drunk) I would always help out of a sense of duty, but other than that, "move on chap!"